Tag: sammi kinghorn

Photo of Sammi Kinghorn on the podium. She is holding up her silver medal and the red Paralympic mascot

Sammi Kinghorn Strikes Silver Again, on Day 8 of the Paris 2024 Paralympics 

Sammi Kinghorn wins her third silver medal in Paris whilst there’s victory in wheelchair basketball for Robyn Love and Jodie Waite  

By Bethany Lee 

Sammi Kinghorn has won a silver medal in the women’s 400m T53 final, bringing her medal tally to an impressive four medals (one gold, three silvers) in Paris. 

The Scot sped down the track to secure second place with a time of 53.45.  

Following her silver performance, she said: “I’m absolutely buzzing, four from four, you can’t be disappointed with that. It was a good race and I’m happy with the time as Catherine’s (Debrunner) PB is about two and a half seconds faster than mine so she was always going to be quick. I wanted to make sure that the silver was well and truly mine and I’ve done that.” 

It’s fair to say that the Scot was riding a high from her golden performance in Wednesday’s 100m T53 race. She said: “I was still lying awake at 3am last night just buzzing with myself so this is great. I slept in until half 10 though. Last night was incredible for me, knowing that I had one last chance to come out and enjoy it.” 

It was the final event of a very successful Paralympics for Sammi with the Melrose star adding her Paris medals to her Tokyo 2020 Games 400m silver, solidifying her legacy as an elite Para athlete.  

Reflecting on the Games, the 28-yer-old, said: “I’ve done a lot better than I thought I would coming in. I did hope that I could come away with medals from each of my four events. The 1500m was a surprise, I probably could get fourth or squeeze a bronze in that so it’s been a complete shock. And to win that gold last night was a real shock. This has been my best Games by far.” 

In other Para athletics news, Glasgow’s Melanie Woods competed in the women’s 400m T54 track, qualifying in third place in the heats. 

The fast-paced final saw the Scot finish sixth after a tight race with just 2.50 seconds between first and last place.  

Following the final, Melanie said: “I’m a little bit disappointed with the time but realistically in a field like that, it’s probably a good finish. When I look back, I’ll see it as a respectable finish.” 
 
“I think I’m in PB shape and I was ready to take chunks off my time, it just didn’t come out of me today. It’s a mix of weather and a week of racing in my arms. But all things considered, I’m pretty proud.” 

Reflecting on her experience in Paris, the 30-year-old, said: “I started the week with some huge personal bests. I then changed my expectations, I raised the bar for myself, but these girls are getting faster every year so I need to do the same. It’s a mixture of feeling proud you’re getting better but knowing I need to chase these girls down and close the gap. I definitely think I have a lot more to give.” 

Meanwhile on the basketball court, ParalympicsGB’s women’s wheelchair basketball team also met victory. Scottish players Robyn Love and Jodie Waite, alongside their teammates, skilfully dominated the game against Japan, with a 67-55 win. 

The win gives the team the chance to compete for fifth place on Saturday in Paris.  

Scottish athletes were also seen in action in today’s Para swimming events. 

First up was the newly crowned fly Paralympic champion, Faye Rogers. Faye continued to show her athleticism by securing a third place in the women’s 400m freestyle S10 heats, gaining her a spot in her second Paralympic final.  

Despite giving it her all, the podium was just out of reach for Faye. She clocked a time of 4:41.50, to place fifth. 

She said: “It’s really nice to see the class is getting more competitive, it’s looking really good. I couldn’t be prouder to swim in a race that competitive, it’s insane, and it’s making me faster. I’m a little bit disappointed with the time, I’ve been training a lot better than that, but you can’t change it and I gave it my all.” 

 

 The University of Aberdeen student has already emerged victorious from her first ever Paralympic games, gaining a gold medal in the women’s 100m S10 butterfly on Tuesday. 

Faye’s will next compete in the women’s 200m individual medley SM10.  

Looking towards her final event in Paris, she said: “I’m quite excited for it, I’ve been doing a lot of work on my weaker two strokes. It’s an interesting one for me as I do really struggle with breaststroke, I have never been good at it, so my race often doesn’t look like everyone else’s. but I really enjoy racing it and I’m going in third seed, so I’d love to come out with a medal but all I can do is my best.” 

The second Scottish Para swimmer of the day, Toni Shaw, competed in the women’s 200m individual medley SM9. 

A highly competitive heat saw Toni neck-and-neck with three other swimmers battling for the second-place spot. They couldn’t keep up with the Scottish star though as she pushed herself into second, sending her through to her third final in Paris. 

Despite fighting hard in a tight race, Toni lost out on a medal by just 0.24 seconds and had to settle for fourth. A tough final defeat for the 21-year-old, who finished fifth and eighth in her other Paris events.  

The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website. You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here. 

Photo of Sammi Kinghorn in her racing wheelchair holding the Union Jack flag and standing next to the official clock which shows her new Paralympic record time

Sammi Kinghorn Adds Gold to Her Collection Whilst Jenny Holl Completes Her Medal Set, at Paris 2024 

Sammi Kinghorn turns golden in Paralympic record style, on the seventh day of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.  

The 28-year-old can finally call herself a Paralympic champion at these Games, after an outstanding race in the women’s 100m T53. The Scot flew down the Para athletics track to clock a new Paralympic record time of 15.64 seconds. She adds this gold to the two silvers she’s already picked-up at the Stade-de-France.  

Para cycling waved goodbye to the velodrome and took to the roads on day seven. It was here that Jenny Holl piloted Sophie Unwin to a superb silver medal in the women’s B Individual Time Trial.  

The Irish team made up of Katie George-Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly got the better over the Brits, going quicker than Jenny and Sophie by 1:23.60 seconds.  

The silver completes the Paralympic medal set for the duo, after having taken gold and bronze earlier in Paris.  

The Scots were again in action in Para swimming, with both Stephen Clegg and Toni Shaw making their evening finals. 

The medals were just out of reach for Stephen who missed the podium by just over half a second, in the men’s 100m freestyle S12. He had to settle for fourth place behind the two Ukrainians and the Azerbaijan athletes.  The same result was repeated in the final of the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 49 points, where Stephen represented the Scots in ParalympicsGB’s relay team. 

Toni Shaw couldn’t match the world record pace of Australia’s Alexa Leary, in the women’s 100m freestyle S9. The swimmer from Aberdeen gave a great effort in a packed final, to finish eighth in a time of 1:05.60.  

There was defeat and disappointment in the women’s wheelchair basketball, the boccia mixed team BC1/BC2 and the men’s wheelchair tennis singles, as all lost their quarterfinal matches.  

Robyn Love and Jodie Waite’s dream of a Paralympic medal were squashed after a thrilling quarterfinal against the USA. The USA took advantage of Great Britain’s missed opportunities in the final quarter to steal the win, 59-52. 

It was heartbreak in the boccia when Kayleigh Haggo, David Smith and Claire Taggart lost the tiebreak to Indonesia, which ended their Paralympic journey in Paris.  

Gordon Reid also failed to advance further in the men’s singles tournament, after a fiercely contested quarterfinal against Gustavo Fernandez. The Argentinian rallied to a 6-0, 7-6 win over the Scot. 

Gordon did find success in the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles though, where he and tennis partner Alfie Hewett beat the home favourites to advance to Friday’s gold medal game.  

The duo beat France’s Frederic Cattaneo and Stephane Houdet 6-4, 6-3, which means they will battle it out for gold against Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in two days time.  

The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram, as well as on the SDS website. You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here.